1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to booster cable clamps for automotive, marine, etc. booster cables, and more specifically to a booster cable clamp for use with side mounted and standard top mounted battery terminals.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various battery booster cable clamps are in general use today for electrically connecting two or more automotive type batteries. The cable clamps are generally connected to a battery booster cable in such a manner that the cable clamps can be clamped onto standard top-mount battery terminals to temporarily electrically connect two such batteries when one has insufficient power to start the automotive, marine, etc. vehicle. This is commonly called "jump starting" from one vehicle battery to another. In the past, commonly used automotive batteries have been of a standard type. In this standard type battery, the battery terminals consist of battery posts mounted on the top surface of the battery. These battery posts are generally one-half to three-quarter inches in diameter and three-quarters to one inch in height. A standard battery cable terminal is commonly screw or spring mounted to this battery post to insure a sufficient electrical current carrying connection therebetween.
The standard battery booster cable clamp is generally formed of two essentially elongate pieces, pivotally hinged together at their midpoints so that by gripping and squeezing together adjacent ends thereof (the handles), the opposite ends thereof (the electrical connection ends or jaws) are spread apart in order that they might be clamped onto the battery post or vehicle battery cable terminal. A spring is commonly included in the booster cable clamp for urging the electrical connection ends (jaws) of the clamp toward each other. Battery booster cable clamps in common use today incorporate toothed jaws that grip or "bite" into the battery terminal post or battery cable terminal.
With the advent of side terminal mount automotive batteries, a different type of battery cable terminal has come into common use. The side-mount battery terminal is two-part, in that the major electrical connection is provided by (1) an essentially flat, annular electrical contact surface, commonly formed as a part of the battery casing, and (2) a battery terminal bolt inserted through the battery cable terminal and then threadedly inserted into this annular battery terminal surface in a manner to form a positive electrical connection between the flat, annular electrical contact surface of the battery terminal and the battery cable terminal, and between the opposite side of the battery cable terminal and the bolt head portion of the battery terminal. The battery cable terminals and two-part battery terminal are designed such that, with the battery cable attached to the battery terminal, minimal metallic surface is exposed to the atmosphere, in order to reduce the build-up of corrosive elements thereon. The negative aspect of this otherwise improved design is that it becomes rather difficult to connect a standard battery booster cable clamp to the head portion of the battery terminal bolt sufficiently to effect an electrical connection suitable for carrying sufficient current required to start the vehicle.
In the event of a "dead" battery, heretofore it has been common practice to use standard battery booster cables on these side-mount terminals for this battery boosting procedure. Because the side-mount battery terminal bolts are small and essentially protected from free access thereto, the area of electrical contact between the battery terminal bolt head and the standard top-mount type battery booster cable clamp is quite small, resulting in undesirable areas of extremely high concentration of battery current transfer between the battery terminal bolt head and battery booster cable clamp.